Giants' Will Beatty set for preseason debut

By ART STAPLETON

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

EAST RUTHERFORD – Will Beatty has heard the accusation from his critics pretty much since he was drafted six years ago by the Giants.

There is the perception that Beatty is far too nice of a guy to be an elite NFL offensive lineman, someone whose passion for the game of football is usually hidden beneath the persona of a soft-spoken player whose success is more reliant on technique than those who prefer to slug it out play after play.

"Being a nice guy doesn't mean I'm not tough enough to play," Beatty said before Thursday's practice, the final dress rehearsal in advance of his first preseason game action against the Colts on Saturday night in Indianapolis. "Fistfights and throwing helmets, I mean, that's not this game anymore. The game has changed drastically from 15 or 20 years ago. Throwing punches, scratching and clawing, decapitating players' heads off, that stuff doesn't make you tough. I'm not the aggressor. I'm the protector, and that's what I get paid to do: protect the guy with the ball in his hands and make sure he doesn't get touched."

Beatty did that extremely well two seasons ago, emerging as an ascending left tackle whom the Giants believed in enough to invest in his future by signing their 2009 second-round draft pick to a five-year, $37.5 million contract following the 2012 campaign.

Like most of his offensive teammates, Beatty struggled mightily in 2013.

He lost confidence in his fundamentals, pressed far too much in trying to live up to the expectations raised by the big money deal the Giants gave him. Then adding to the insult, Beatty was carted from the field inside MetLife Stadium after sustaining a devastating leg fracture and knee injury that required surgery.

With this season at the time in doubt, Beatty vowed to rebound and be ready.

He has been on the practice field with the first team since training camp opened July 21, and as part of the team's plan, his next step comes Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, where Beatty will start and – for the first time this summer – the Giants will have their projected first-team unit intact.

And Beatty believes he is back where he belongs.

"If I try to go out there thinking let me go out there and play with the second team, play with the third team, play against the easier guys who are trying to make the team and aren't that skilled — that's cheating myself," he said. "That's cheating the organization. That's cheating my family and my fans. I'm the left tackle and my job is to go out and face their best guy on defense, he's going against me. It's like, 'OK, you want to see how good you are, go against the best. Test yourself against the best that they have and see how you come out. That's going to tell you where you are.'

"Because I could sit here and tell you I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if I don't go out there and prove it, 'He's all talk.' I've got to talk with pads and not the mouth."

The Giants' offense is still searching for an identity under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, especially the passing game featuring Eli Manning that has been inconsistent, at best. Charles Brown has struggled in Beatty's stead, lending credence to the notion that – other than Manning and Jason Pierre-Paul – the Giants might not win much without Beatty at his best.

"You thank the ownership, you thank the fans, you thank the coaches by going out there and giving your best, giving your all and leaving it out there on the field each and every day," Beatty said. "Right now, it's about proving to myself that I've still got it. This is about proving to, not them, but me. If I'm satisfied at the end of the day, I know that you're more than thrilled with my performance because I'm going to be harder on me than you are. I'm challenging myself to be the best I can be."

Giants' Will Beatty set for preseason debut

By ART STAPLETON

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

EAST RUTHERFORD – Will Beatty has heard the accusation from his critics pretty much since he was drafted six years ago by the Giants.

There is the perception that Beatty is far too nice of a guy to be an elite NFL offensive lineman, someone whose passion for the game of football is usually hidden beneath the persona of a soft-spoken player whose success is more reliant on technique than those who prefer to slug it out play after play.

"Being a nice guy doesn't mean I'm not tough enough to play," Beatty said before Thursday's practice, the final dress rehearsal in advance of his first preseason game action against the Colts on Saturday night in Indianapolis. "Fistfights and throwing helmets, I mean, that's not this game anymore. The game has changed drastically from 15 or 20 years ago. Throwing punches, scratching and clawing, decapitating players' heads off, that stuff doesn't make you tough. I'm not the aggressor. I'm the protector, and that's what I get paid to do: protect the guy with the ball in his hands and make sure he doesn't get touched."

Beatty did that extremely well two seasons ago, emerging as an ascending left tackle whom the Giants believed in enough to invest in his future by signing their 2009 second-round draft pick to a five-year, $37.5 million contract following the 2012 campaign.

Like most of his offensive teammates, Beatty struggled mightily in 2013.

He lost confidence in his fundamentals, pressed far too much in trying to live up to the expectations raised by the big money deal the Giants gave him. Then adding to the insult, Beatty was carted from the field inside MetLife Stadium after sustaining a devastating leg fracture and knee injury that required surgery.

With this season at the time in doubt, Beatty vowed to rebound and be ready.

He has been on the practice field with the first team since training camp opened July 21, and as part of the team's plan, his next step comes Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, where Beatty will start and – for the first time this summer – the Giants will have their projected first-team unit intact.

And Beatty believes he is back where he belongs.

"If I try to go out there thinking let me go out there and play with the second team, play with the third team, play against the easier guys who are trying to make the team and aren't that skilled — that's cheating myself," he said. "That's cheating the organization. That's cheating my family and my fans. I'm the left tackle and my job is to go out and face their best guy on defense, he's going against me. It's like, 'OK, you want to see how good you are, go against the best. Test yourself against the best that they have and see how you come out. That's going to tell you where you are.'

"Because I could sit here and tell you I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if I don't go out there and prove it, 'He's all talk.' I've got to talk with pads and not the mouth."

The Giants' offense is still searching for an identity under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, especially the passing game featuring Eli Manning that has been inconsistent, at best. Charles Brown has struggled in Beatty's stead, lending credence to the notion that – other than Manning and Jason Pierre-Paul – the Giants might not win much without Beatty at his best.

"You thank the ownership, you thank the fans, you thank the coaches by going out there and giving your best, giving your all and leaving it out there on the field each and every day," Beatty said. "Right now, it's about proving to myself that I've still got it. This is about proving to, not them, but me. If I'm satisfied at the end of the day, I know that you're more than thrilled with my performance because I'm going to be harder on me than you are. I'm challenging myself to be the best I can be."